Travail
Beautiful Loneliness
Reviewed by Doug Van Pelt
Ever since their days of gigging around Texas with bands like Within and Embodyment, Travail has promised to deliver the nu sound of metal. Anchor Of My Soul, which originally went on CD in 1998, was re-packaged and re-released in 1999 by Pluto (with the added song "Beaten," which coincidentally sounds strangely familiar to Gryp's "Ungrateful"), has now received another packaging facelift, been re-produced and remixed by Barry Poynter, re-mastered by Kent Stump, and had four songs added on from the Luti-Kriss/Travail split ("And So I Was Thinking," "A Song For A Friend," "When I Fall," and "Return"). It sounds and looks better, for sure. For those that haven't been turned on to the sound of Travail, this will be the "debut album" of choice. Fans of Machine Head, Living Sacrifice, and Godsmack will appreciate the devastating intensity and monster riffage. The band's earlier leanings of rapcore are heard in a couple tunes (like "A Song For A Friend" and the EDL-like "Opposition"), but this notion is shoved aside by the unleashed energy of the band slamming it out in unison at full tilt. Travail is dangerous, I can't wait to hear if they can create more trouble with future new releases.